Article Surfing Archive

As a student pilot, everything is new to you. It is a lot of fun, but you are put into situations that you haven't been put into before. And it's a lot of fun but a lot of times it can be pretty spooky. Let's say that you are flying for the first time through moderate turbulence, it's really bumpy and uncomfortable and you are not used to it. It can be pretty rough for a new student.

Also, another thing that can make new students a little bit nervous is landing. And yes, landing is its own adventure. When you are at a higher altitude, you have a lot of room for error and you feel more comfortable. So approaching the ground can be a little daunting.

So here's what I want to say to you, the student pilot (I don't care if you have 10 hours of flying time or 10,000 hours, you always need to be a student): Have confidence in yourself.

Let me say this again: Have confidence in yourself.

At first, when you are just beginning to land, you feel like you have no control over the airplane. It's only because it isn't second nature to you yet. Don't worry about that. When you are ready to solo, your instructor will let you know. Trust their decision (make sure you have a good instructor ' refer to the previous letter). They have been exactly where you are now. It's okay if you don't grease every landing on like a pro. When you are ready to solo, you may not be Bob Hoover, but at least you are a safe pilot.

Many of my students are ready to solo before they have the confidence. They have the ability, but not the confidence yet. (Don't worry, I let them build their confidence as well before they solo.)

There will come a point in your training when it will click. You will get it. The final approach, the flare, the touchdown and rollout. It will all make sense, and now you can work on perfecting your landings, as opposed to figuring out how to not blow the tires on touchdown.

Another piece of advice; when it comes to landing, or anything that you are struggling with, don't get stressed out. Flying is fun. Make it fun for yourself. Don't beat yourself up after a not so great landing. If you are getting too frustrated, go play golf, or go fishing, or watch your favorite movie. There are plenty of things that are less expensive than flying. Make sure you are mentally ready for each lesson, and remember to keep it fun.